Listening pays off for satellite firm staff polls

A satellite communications firm has increased the proportion of people
taking part in its staff attitude survey to almost 90 per cent after acting on
the responses and using an elected team of employees to manage the process.

Inmarsat has actively used the information from employee surveys to drive
business and HR policy decisions at the company, with the internal shareholder
forum of staff acting as project managers.

Staff at Inmarsat have been so impressed by the way the company has
responded to the findings of the staff-run employee surveys that the latest
poll captured the views of 86 per cent of the overall workforce.

Marijke Cazemier, head of HR, said the firm had set about looking at how
collaboration between divisions and contact throughout the entire organisation
could be improved after the previous survey identified the need to improve
communication at the company.

Cazemier added that the latest poll managed to bring together the opinions
of 450 workers in nine separate countries, with the entire process completed in
the space of just three months.

"The findings of the latest survey are very valuable," Cazemier
said.

"Because our employees know that their opinions are taken seriously,
the response rate and the quality of the information are good."

After each survey, key areas are identified for attention, and regular
reports are given to the employees about how much progress is being made, and
the difference it is making to the overall business.